Ever gotten hit with a chargeback? You're not alone. In this episode, we dive into the world of e-commerce fraud with Qi Cao, the co-founder and CEO of Chargeblast, a company helping merchants fight back against unfair chargebacks.



Qi Cao went from scientist to entrepreneur after experiencing the pain of chargebacks firsthand. Now, he's helping businesses win back revenue and avoid costly disputes. But Chargeblast's journey wasn't always smooth sailing. We'll hear how Qi Cao pivoted from B2C to B2B, bootstrapped his company, and leveraged data to achieve explosive growth.



We'll also discuss:


Chargebacks in e-commerce: Why merchants lose most disputes, and how to fight back.
Bootstrapping and growth strategies: How Chargeblast achieved success without venture capital.
Cost-saving hacks for startups: Cutting costs with AI tools and data-driven decisions.
The future of AI in FinTech: Separating hype from reality.



So buckle up, entrepreneurs! This episode offers insights to help you win the chargeback battle and grow your business.





Find Startup Hustle Everywhere:

https://gigb.co/l/YEh5



This episode is sponsored by Full Scale:

https://fullscale.io/



Visit the Chargeblast website: 

https://www.chargeblast.com/



Learn more about Qi Cao:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/xiuqi-cao/



Sign up for the Startup Hustle newsletter:

https://newsletter.startuphustle.xyz/



Highlighted Discussion Points
Chargeblast is a startup that helps merchants maintain low chargeback rates by alerting them before payment processors. 0:31
Chargebacks in e-commerce, with insights on industries affected and strategies for resolving disputes. 8:47
Bootstrapping, unit economics, and growth strategies for startups. 13:06
Advertising strategies for early-stage companies, focusing on targeting and margin growth. 18:45
Cost-saving strategies for businesses, including using AI tools and tracking ROI. 23:48
AI in finance, Chargeblast's product, and entrepreneurship advice. 30:21

Ever gotten hit with a chargeback? You're not alone. In this episode, we dive into the world of e-commerce fraud with Qi Cao, the co-founder and CEO of Chargeblast, a company helping merchants fight back against unfair chargebacks.
 
Qi Cao went from scientist to entrepreneur after experiencing the pain of chargebacks firsthand. Now, he's helping businesses win back revenue and avoid costly disputes. But Chargeblast's journey wasn't always smooth sailing. We'll hear how Qi Cao pivoted from B2C to B2B, bootstrapped his company, and leveraged data to achieve explosive growth.
 
We'll also discuss:
 
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Chargebacks in e-commerce: Why merchants lose most disputes, and how to fight back.</li>
<li aria-level="1">Bootstrapping and growth strategies: How Chargeblast achieved success without venture capital.</li>
<li aria-level="1">Cost-saving hacks for startups: Cutting costs with AI tools and data-driven decisions.</li>
<li aria-level="1">The future of AI in FinTech: Separating hype from reality.</li>
</ul>
 
So buckle up, entrepreneurs! This episode offers insights to help you win the chargeback battle and grow your business.
 
 
Find Startup Hustle Everywhere:
<a href="https://gigb.co/l/YEh5">https://gigb.co/l/YEh5</a>
 
This episode is sponsored by Full Scale:
<a href="https://fullscale.io/">https://fullscale.io/</a>
 
Visit the Chargeblast website: 
<a href="https://www.chargeblast.com/">https://www.chargeblast.com/</a> 
 
Learn more about Qi Cao:
<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/xiuqi-cao/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/xiuqi-cao/</a> 
 
Sign up for the Startup Hustle newsletter:
<a href="https://newsletter.startuphustle.xyz/">https://newsletter.startuphustle.xyz/</a> 
 
Highlighted Discussion Points
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Chargeblast is a startup that helps merchants maintain low chargeback rates by alerting them before payment processors. 0:31</li>
<li aria-level="1">Chargebacks in e-commerce, with insights on industries affected and strategies for resolving disputes. 8:47</li>
<li aria-level="1">Bootstrapping, unit economics, and growth strategies for startups. 13:06</li>
<li aria-level="1">Advertising strategies for early-stage companies, focusing on targeting and margin growth. 18:45</li>
<li aria-level="1">Cost-saving strategies for businesses, including using AI tools and tracking ROI. 23:48</li>
<li aria-level="1">AI in finance, Chargeblast's product, and entrepreneurship advice. 30:21</li>
</ul>

Startup Hustle is a podcast for entrepreneurs, by entrepreneurs.  With the mission of telling the real story of startups and entrepreneurs, topics range from funding to failure and beyond.  If you want to start, own, or build a business then you're in the right place.   

Startup Hustle is a podcast for entrepreneurs, by entrepreneurs.&nbsp; With the mission of telling the real story of startups and entrepreneurs, topics range from funding to failure and beyond.&nbsp; If you want to start, own, or build a business then you're in the right place.&nbsp; &nbsp;

Startups, Entrepreneurship and Business are Not Easy

Startup Hustle

Startup Hustle is a podcast for entrepreneurs, by entrepreneurs.  With the mission of telling the real story of startups and entrepreneurs, topics range from funding to failure and beyond.  If you want to start, own, or build a business then you're in the right place.

Pivoting & Bootstrapping to 1000 Customers

In this episode of the Startup Hustle podcast, Matt Watson interviews Rich Brooks, the president of Flight New Media, about digital marketing and the Remarkability Formula. They discuss the impact of AI on marketing, the importance of finding your uniqueness, and the benefits of niching down. 

Rich explains the four lenses of remarkability: find, focus, frame, and forge. He also shares insights on recurring revenue and the value of building relationships with clients. Rich's podcast, Agents of Change, provides actionable tips for digital marketing.

Takeaways

- AI is transforming the field of digital marketing, increasing productivity and improving the quality of work.
- Finding your uniqueness and niching down is essential for standing out in a crowded market.
- The Remarkability Formula consists of four lenses: find, focus, frame, and forge, which help identify and leverage what makes a business remarkable.
- Recurring revenue is crucial for the long-term success and value of a business.
- Building relationships with clients is key to retaining them and creating a loyal customer base.

Find Startup Hustle Everywhere:
https://gigb.co/l/YEh5

This episode is sponsored by Full Scale:
https://fullscale.io/

Visit the Flyte New Media website:
http://www.takeflyte.com/

Check out Rich Brooks' podcast:
https://www.theagentsofchange.com/podcasts

Learn more about Rich Brooks here:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/therichbrooks/

Sign up for the Startup Hustle newsletter:
https://newsletter.startuphustle.xyz/

Sound Bites

"It's so much easier to just talk and just ramble and use AI to help you continue and improve it."
"You don't want to be competing with somebody else. You don't want to be competing on price."
"Find things that are very difficult to replicate and that your customers care a lot about."

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Digital Marketing and AI
02:53 The Remarkability Formula and Leveraging AI in Content Creation
05:35 Transitioning to Recurring Revenue in Professional Services
11:41 The Value of Hosting a Digital Marketing Conference

In this episode of the Startup Hustle podcast, Matt Watson interviews Rich Brooks, the president of Flight New Media, about digital marketing and the Remarkability Formula. They discuss the impact of AI on marketing, the importance of finding your uniqueness, and the benefits of niching down. 
Rich explains the four lenses of remarkability: find, focus, frame, and forge. He also shares insights on recurring revenue and the value of building relationships with clients. Rich's podcast, Agents of Change, provides actionable tips for digital marketing.
Takeaways
- AI is transforming the field of digital marketing, increasing productivity and improving the quality of work. - Finding your uniqueness and niching down is essential for standing out in a crowded market. - The Remarkability Formula consists of four lenses: find, focus, frame, and forge, which help identify and leverage what makes a business remarkable. - Recurring revenue is crucial for the long-term success and value of a business. - Building relationships with clients is key to retaining them and creating a loyal customer base.
Find Startup Hustle Everywhere: https://gigb.co/l/YEh5
This episode is sponsored by Full Scale: https://fullscale.io/
Visit the Flyte New Media website: http://www.takeflyte.com/
Check out Rich Brooks' podcast: https://www.theagentsofchange.com/podcasts
Learn more about Rich Brooks here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/therichbrooks/
Sign up for the Startup Hustle newsletter: https://newsletter.startuphustle.xyz/
Sound Bites
"It's so much easier to just talk and just ramble and use AI to help you continue and improve it." "You don't want to be competing with somebody else. You don't want to be competing on price." "Find things that are very difficult to replicate and that your customers care a lot about."
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Digital Marketing and AI 02:53 The Remarkability Formula and Leveraging AI in Content Creation 05:35 Transitioning to Recurring Revenue in Professional Services 11:41 The Value of Hosting a Digital Marketing Conference

The Remarkability Formula

In this episode of the Startup Hustle podcast, Matt Watson interviews Ozan Unlu, the founder and CEO of Edge Delta, an observability company. They discuss the challenges of managing large amounts of data in complex production environments and the need for developers to have access to production data without compromising security. 

Ozan shares his journey from being a software developer at Microsoft to becoming a solution architect and eventually starting his own company. They also delve into the unique problem that Edge Delta solves, which is processing and analyzing data at the edge to determine its value and optimize storage and retention. 

Takeaways
- Observability is crucial for managing large amounts of data in complex production environments.
- Developers need access to production data without compromising security.
- Edge Delta solves the problem of processing and analyzing data at the edge to determine its value and optimize storage and retention.
- The company provides flexible and scalable solutions for observability and data pipelines.
- Edge Delta competes with log management tools like Splunk and DataDog, offering 80% of features that customers care about.
- Edge Delta aims to be the best platform for customers in the long term, rather than focusing solely on revenue. Starting a deep tech and enterprise company requires a long-term vision and the ability to navigate both technical and sales challenges.
- Raising early-stage funding can be lengthy, but having a strong team and unique insights can help attract investors.
- The sales cycle for enterprise accounts is typically five to six months, involving multiple teams and evaluation periods.
- Storing and analyzing large amounts of data in the observability space is a significant challenge, and implementing next-generation architectures can help bring down costs.
- Entrepreneurs should seize the current market opportunities and the availability of talent and potential investors to pursue their dreams.

Find Startup Hustle Everywhere:
https://gigb.co/l/YEh5

This episode is sponsored by Full Scale:
https://fullscale.io/

Visit the Edge Delta website:
https://edgedelta.com/

Learn more about Ozan here:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ozanu/

Sign up for the Startup Hustle newsletter:
https://newsletter.startuphustle.xyz/

Sound Bites
"I'm excited because not very often do I get a podcast host who also has a tremendous amount of experience in the space."
"I think my unique experience of being an ex-developer who then went solution architect and went salesperson, showing up once a week and really working with the customers on deep technical challenges, kind of in the front trenches, that..."
"Edge Delta is the concept of how do we start looking at data as it's being created, as close to the source of that data as possible, and how do we start to pre-process, pre-aggregate, and frankly have machine learning and some even basic AI running on the edge."
"We have to have a very long-term vision on this, even on day one."
"The team is probably the number one thing."
"It feels like you're on the treadmill, just trying to get a few customers landed."

Chapters
00:00 The Challenges of Observability and Data Management
06:17 Solving Unique Problems with Edge Delta
12:55 Competing in the Landscape of Observability Vendors
25:05 The Journey to Acquiring the First Paying Customer
31:22 Innovation in the Observability Space

In this episode of the Startup Hustle podcast, Matt Watson interviews Ozan Unlu, the founder and CEO of Edge Delta, an observability company. They discuss the challenges of managing large amounts of data in complex production environments and the need for developers to have access to production data without compromising security. 
Ozan shares his journey from being a software developer at Microsoft to becoming a solution architect and eventually starting his own company. They also delve into the unique problem that Edge Delta solves, which is processing and analyzing data at the edge to determine its value and optimize storage and retention. 
Takeaways - Observability is crucial for managing large amounts of data in complex production environments. - Developers need access to production data without compromising security. - Edge Delta solves the problem of processing and analyzing data at the edge to determine its value and optimize storage and retention. - The company provides flexible and scalable solutions for observability and data pipelines. - Edge Delta competes with log management tools like Splunk and DataDog, offering 80% of features that customers care about. - Edge Delta aims to be the best platform for customers in the long term, rather than focusing solely on revenue. Starting a deep tech and enterprise company requires a long-term vision and the ability to navigate both technical and sales challenges. - Raising early-stage funding can be lengthy, but having a strong team and unique insights can help attract investors. - The sales cycle for enterprise accounts is typically five to six months, involving multiple teams and evaluation periods. - Storing and analyzing large amounts of data in the observability space is a significant challenge, and implementing next-generation architectures can help bring down costs. - Entrepreneurs should seize the current market opportunities and the availability of talent and potential investors to pursue their dreams.
Find Startup Hustle Everywhere: https://gigb.co/l/YEh5
This episode is sponsored by Full Scale: https://fullscale.io/
Visit the Edge Delta website: https://edgedelta.com/
Learn more about Ozan here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ozanu/
Sign up for the Startup Hustle newsletter: https://newsletter.startuphustle.xyz/
Sound Bites "I'm excited because not very often do I get a podcast host who also has a tremendous amount of experience in the space." "I think my unique experience of being an ex-developer who then went solution architect and went salesperson, showing up once a week and really working with the customers on deep technical challenges, kind of in the front trenches, that..." "Edge Delta is the concept of how do we start looking at data as it's being created, as close to the source of that data as possible, and how do we start to pre-process, pre-aggregate, and frankly have machine learning and some even basic AI running on the edge." "We have to have a very long-term vision on this, even on day one." "The team is probably the number one thing." "It feels like you're on the treadmill, just trying to get a few customers landed."
Chapters 00:00 The Challenges of Observability and Data Management 06:17 Solving Unique Problems with Edge Delta 12:55 Competing in the Landscape of Observability Vendors 25:05 The Journey to Acquiring the First Paying Customer 31:22 Innovation in the Observability Space

Scaling an Enterprise Data Startup

Neelima Paraskar, founder and CEO of Snap IT, discusses her journey in the tech industry and the challenges of hiring and retaining talent in the IT field. She shares how Snap IT started as a training company to address the lack of affordable and skilled engineers in Kansas City.

Neelima also talks about the impact of AI on software development and the changing skills required in the industry. She highlights the importance of certifications and government contracts in growing her business. Neelima offers tips for entrepreneurs, including the value of networking and persistence.

Takeaways
- Snap IT was founded to address the lack of affordable and skilled engineers in Kansas City.
- The company started as a training company but evolved into an IT solutions provider.
- Retaining talent is a challenge in the IT industry, especially for small businesses.
- AI is changing software development and the skills required in the industry.
- Government contracts and certifications have been instrumental in the growth of Snap IT.
- Networking and persistence are key for entrepreneurs.



Find Startup Hustle Everywhere:

https://gigb.co/l/YEh5



This episode is sponsored by Full Scale:

https://fullscale.io



Visit the SnapIT Solutions website:

https://snapit.solutions



Learn more about Neelima here:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/neelimaparasker



Sign up for the Startup Hustle newsletter:

https://newsletter.startuphustle.xyz



Sound Bites:
"I wanted to hire talent, which is affordable."
"Everybody's a free agent, right?"
"We keep them in Snap IT for about three to four months till they become independent."

Chapters:
00:00 The Launch of Snap IT
06:36 How to deal with employees who leave
10:28 How to make opportunities for your future workforce
17:01 How AI is changing software development
22:31 Working with a significant other in the IT business
24:52 The real deal in getting government contracts
29:10 Neelima's journey in creating a software company
33:00 Tips for Entrepreneurs

Neelima Paraskar, founder and CEO of Snap IT, discusses her journey in the tech industry and the challenges of hiring and retaining talent in the IT field. She shares how Snap IT started as a training company to address the lack of affordable and skilled engineers in Kansas City.
Neelima also talks about the impact of AI on software development and the changing skills required in the industry. She highlights the importance of certifications and government contracts in growing her business. Neelima offers tips for entrepreneurs, including the value of networking and persistence. Takeaways - Snap IT was founded to address the lack of affordable and skilled engineers in Kansas City. - The company started as a training company but evolved into an IT solutions provider. - Retaining talent is a challenge in the IT industry, especially for small businesses. - AI is changing software development and the skills required in the industry. - Government contracts and certifications have been instrumental in the growth of Snap IT. - Networking and persistence are key for entrepreneurs.
 
Find Startup Hustle Everywhere:
<a href="https://gigb.co/l/YEh5">https://gigb.co/l/YEh5</a>
 
This episode is sponsored by Full Scale:
<a href="https://fullscale.io/">https://fullscale.io</a>
 
Visit the SnapIT Solutions website:
<a href="https://snapit.solutions/">https://snapit.solutions</a>
 
Learn more about Neelima here:
<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/neelimaparasker/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/neelimaparasker</a>
 
Sign up for the Startup Hustle newsletter:
<a href="https://newsletter.startuphustle.xyz/">https://newsletter.startuphustle.xyz</a>
 
Sound Bites: "I wanted to hire talent, which is affordable." "Everybody's a free agent, right?" "We keep them in Snap IT for about three to four months till they become independent." Chapters: 00:00 The Launch of Snap IT 06:36 How to deal with employees who leave 10:28 How to make opportunities for your future workforce 17:01 How AI is changing software development 22:31 Working with a significant other in the IT business 24:52 The real deal in getting government contracts 29:10 Neelima's journey in creating a software company 33:00 Tips for Entrepreneurs

Pivoting & Bootstrapping to 1000 Customers

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